Eurotopics.net

When Pope Francis gets off the plane in Baghdad this Friday, the first ever visit by a Pope to Iraq and Francis's first trip after a year on a Covid break will begin. The pope, who chose the words "You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers" as the official slogan for his four-day visit, aims to highlight the common ground among religions. Commentators commend the pope for this gesture of solidarity and dialogue under difficult circumstances.

Of the 2.5 million coronavirus deaths worldwide, 2.2 million were in countries with a comparatively high obesity rate, according to a study put out by the World Obesity Federation this week. Previous studies also establish a link between severe Covid cases and obesity. Should efforts to combat obesity be ramped up? And if so, how? Opinions are divided.

Italy has blocked the shipment of 250,000 doses of the Anglo-Swedish Astrazeneca vaccine to Australia in the first intervention since the EU introduced rules on exports of vaccines outside the bloc in January according to which vaccines can only be shipped with official approval. Is the EU in a better position to deal with manufacturers and global competition than some are making it out to be?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented the key points of Turkey's Human Rights Action Plan on Tuesday, which is to comprise just under 400 individual measures - including strengthening freedom of expression, women's rights and the judiciary. Yet at the same time numerous opposition politicians and journalists remain behind bars in the country. Commentators wonder how the US and the EU will respond to this charm offensive.

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has presented his budget for 2021 and explained the plan for economic recovery and reducing the debt incurred due to the pandemic. In the short term, aid measures amounting to 65 billion pounds (just over 75 billion euros) will continue. From April 2023, taxes on companies' profits will increase from 19 to 25 percent. Commentators take notice, especially since for many the planned measures mark a U-turn.